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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. branch — a division
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. spring — the season
  5. bear — the animal
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. root — of a word
  8. spell — letters
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. spring — of water
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bear — the animal
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — magic
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. kick — in football
  21. vault — a safe
  22. root — the cause
  23. root — of a plant
  24. vault — in gymnastics

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com